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Posted by Chuck on October 29, 2000 at 03:22:43:

In Reply to: Re: GP 1046 posted by Bruce on October 28, 2000 at 21:58:58:

The trial of what is now known as AMGEN 474 has been going on for about 3 months, with an initial group of 30 taking it and another 270 getting underway as we write. So far no reports have come to my attention of problems, and on the other side the results I am aware of look very promising.

Chuck

: : : This is the most significant progress I have read as of today. Dr. Lieberman posted this article which was published in "Science". Their was a list of what I assume to be the research sites for the study and they are Chicago, Switzerland, Wisconson and France. In "plain English", a factor called GDNF is delivered to the appropriate site attached to a virus. They found the GDNF reversed the process of the dopamine producing neuron's destruction and also induced regeneration of the neurons in primate models of Parkinson's disease. Thw title of the message is "Article from Science of importance to Parkinson's disease patients." Now we have to hold our breath and hope the GDNF factor will work the same way in human subjects and not have any serious side effects. I am impressed! Bruce: : :: Bruce, This seems to be the same article that was in our daily paper. "Relief for Parkinson's Disease"?....Washington: A gene therapy experiment relieved severe symptoms of Parkinson's disease in monkeys and experts say the technique offers promise for treating the 1.2 million Americans who suffer from the disease, experts say. A virus that had been joined with a gene that prompts production of dopamine, a chemical neurotransmitter, was injected into the brains of monkeys who had chemically induced Parkinson's disease. These monkeys that had severe symptoms of Parkinson's were restored to near normal by the gene therapy, said Jeffrey H. Kordower, first author of a study appearing today in the journal Science. Friends, this is another promising avenue for finding THE CURE!!!!!: : Betty D.

: Betty D, Yes, I saw the same article in the newspaper and they described it a little different, but it is the same drug. Earlier today Dr. L posted a message about another drug GP 1046 and said it could be taken orally and also stimulated the regeneration of the dopamine producing nwurons. The development of this drug has progresed further than the first drug I mentioned, and Dr. L says their are close to conducting clinical trials on a large scale. Bruce